Contractors form training alliance
Civil engineering businesses across the region have joined together to address the growing skills shortage and launch the North West Contractors Training Group.
The NWCTG is the result of a successful bid by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association North West for funding from the Construction Industry Training Board. The group will receive £14,000 for the remainder of 2014 to fund its operation, and provide access to a training grant of £12,500 for members. Further funding will be available from 2015.
There are 20 firms already in the group, with interest from a further 30. Members include Buckingham Group, Eric Wright Civil Engineering, Morgan Sindall, Westshield, CT Construction, AE Yates, Harry Fairclough, and Galliford Try.
NWCTG is chaired by Jack Rowley, regional director of Warrington-based Buckingham Group. Training officer Gill Steele of Eric Wright Group will deliver courses to meet the needs of local employers. The group is open to all construction businesses that are registered with the CITB.
Guy Lawson, director of Civil Engineering Contractors Association, said: "We can develop tailored programmes that will genuinely help employers to develop the skills of their workforce, and in turn meet their clients' needs.
"At the same time, by demonstrating a commitment to training, members of NWCTG are especially well-placed to gain a leading edge when bidding for contracts that contain local training targets. With workloads increasing, NWCTG could not have come at a better time."
